Ambrosia

Allison was sitting in a small chair, looking out the window. The bell was ringing from the large clock tower and she clenched her fists furiously.

"Where is she..." Allison bit her lip.

"Where is who?" a voice spoke.

"Huh?" Allison looked over to the corner of the hallway to see one of the kids from the therapy session. It was Jamie. He was smiling at her as he walked forward.

"You're waiting for someone?" he asked.

"Oh, well yeah, my aunt is supposed to pick me up," Allison shrugged.

"She should be here soon then, I'm guessing," Jamie looked out the window with her.

"What... what about you?" she asked.

"I'm going to be living here for a while, actually. At least until I'm completely sobered and off of the marijuana," Jamie looked up.

"Ah, I see," Allison felt no need to question him further.

As time passed, the sun was setting slowly. The bell had stopped ringing and it was now Evacuation time. Allison watched as people were hurrying into cars and out of buildings and into other buildings.

Lights suddenly began shutting off in an instant and the sound of locks clicking began ringing into the halls. Allison's eyes widened as she backed up against the wall. Her heart began racing vigorously. Her breath was growing weaker with sudden gasps of air as the ring of a dozen sirens went off, echoing off the walls from the outside world.

"A-aunt S-Sarah... She's... not... here... what's going on!?" Allison was panicking all in one moment.

"Tantalus!" Jamie's eyes widened, "If she's driving, she'll get to a near by building in time, hopefully!" Jamie seemed to take a deep breath, keeping calm. He grabbed her hand as he dragged her through the hallway, "Come on! We need to get to the escape shelter!"

Allison felt no need to argue as she began catching up to him. She was limping slightly, earlier in the week--she had fallen down the stairs in the dark.

"Quicker!" Jamie screamed, running faster, pulling on her.

Allison tried to run faster, but miss stepped and slammed against the side table, into the window as the metal shingled swayed from side to side. Allison looked up, out of the window, the sun still setting. Her vision was blurred for a long moment and slowly she saw bright, bloody eyes stare forward against dark, purple skin. It blinked at her as it suddenly shrieked loudly, banging its hands against the windows. Allison gasped as she jumped back.

"TANTALUS! It saw me! It saw me!" she screamed.

"We got to go then, don't just stand there, those windows may not hold!" Jamie tugged on her arm again.

As they sped through the hallway, it had gotten darker as they were heading towards the middle of the building. Jamie opened a large door leading down a shaft with dark, steep stairs made of metal. They walked down the stairs quickly. As they looked around the darkness, Jamie pulled a flashlight out and was shining it towards a thick, metal wall with a small door. He ran over to open it quickly as Allison followed.

"AH!" someone screamed.

"Jesus--Claire!" Jamie gasped as him and Allison walked inside quickly. He shut the door, locking it, "It's just us--why didn't you lock the door!? We could have been Tantalus!"

"I thought everyone else would come down," Claire breathed in, recovering from the fright.

"They can knock and say it's them!" Jamie tightened the lock.

Allison stayed silent for a long moment.

"...Allison, you okay?" Jamie looked at her.

Allison nodded slightly. She closed her eyes, thinking of the Tantalus she saw. She remembered its purple skin and red, bleeding eyes vividly in her head replaying. She tried to think of where her aunt could be, and why the Tantalus had came out early today.

"Allison!" Jamie snapped his fingers in front of her.

"Huh?" she shook her head.

"Are you okay?" he mused slowly.

"...Yeah, I'm fine," she blinked.

Claire sat in the back corner of the shelter, holding herself. Jamie walked tot he small radio on a shelf as it turned on. A small buzz was heard as he tuned it to the Evacuation Station.

"--and the Tantalus have managed to catch us off guard. Everyone seems to have gotten inside, fortunately. There are no incidents of anyone being attacked or killed. Instead of having Evacuation at 9:30 PM, we will now hold it at 8:15 PM--" the radio had kept talking as Jamie lowered the volume.

"See? Your aunt's alright!" Jamie smiled.

Allison let out a relieving sigh. She took a seat in a small dining chair to get a better view of the shelter she was in. It looked like a normal room with metal walls and a metal floor. There was a refrigerator, a table with six chairs (the one she sat at), and blankets and flashlights in a corner shelf. On the ground, when Allison looked down, she noticed a metal trap door.

"...Jamie?" Allison had to quickly remember his name.

"Yeah, Allison?"

"What's that door on the floor?"

Jamie looked down on the trap door, "That? That leads to the underground trails."

"Underground trails..." Allison wondered, "Are those like the cave halls in Ohio?"

"You're from, Ohio, eh?" Jamie narrowed his eyes, "Well, yes, exactly the same thing. Trails that lead to exits of cities during Tantalus emergencies. Just in case we can't control their number."

"Ah. I've never been down there before."

"Anyone's greatest fear would be having to go down there."

Allison nodded, "So when do we know this lock down is over?"

"We don't. We wait until morning and then listen to the radio," Claire spoke suddenly.

Both Jamie and Allison looked at her. She looked back, holding herself tighter.

"We're going to have to stay here all night. The blankets are over there. Make yourself at home," Claire spoke after a moment.

Allison looked a little nervous.

"Allison, I'll sleep on the other side of the room if you find it awkward," Jamie looked at her.

"No, no, it's fine, this is just new to me," Allison crossed her arms, pursing her lips.

"Alright, but I'll sleep by the door. You girls hungry?" he walked by the refrigerator.

"A little," Allison muttered.

"I'm not," Clare spoke hotly.

Jamie nodded, "Apple or orange?"

"Apple."

"Alright... potato chips or Doritos?"

"Potato chips..."

Allison watched as Jamie pulled some chips from the cupboard and an apple from the fridge. He passed it to her gently and then sat beside her with an orange and potato chips.

"So you like to write poetry and draw?" he asked, opening his bag of chips.

"I guess," Allison shrugged.

"You guess? It's a yes or no question," Jamie laughed.

"Jamie, leave her be, she looks terrified," Claire frowned.

"Aw, I'm just kidding around," Jamie smirked.

"...How do you do that?" Allison asked him quietly.

"Do what?" Jamie blinked.

"Your parents died... yet you seem so happy."

Jamie's smile erased for a moment, "...Well because if they're gone... I can't do anything about it. Instead of moping around, I try to cheer others with the same problem up," he then faintly gleamed at her, "Like you. Your parents died, so I'm trying to help you."

Allison looked up at him blankly, "But why, though?"

"Because no one deserves to feel that much pain at once. I want them to feel joy again," he looked her in the eyes and then looked up at the ceiling.

Allison reddened from embarrassment. She had never been told something that kind before.

"You guys, listen!" Claire suddenly yelled out, looking around.

Jamie and Allison stayed quiet, listening. The sound of a footstep was heard above them. Allison couldn't help, but bite her lip tightly as her eyes widened.

"Who is it?" Claire asked.

"I don't know, but they're loud," Jamie whispered.

Allison tried to listen more intently to the thumps of the footsteps.

"Don't go outside. Only answer the door if they say who it is!" Claire muttered.

"I know, I know," Jamie put his ear against the door.

Allison looked down, closing her eyes, "Hopefully it's just another person in the building."

Jamie and Claire both stayed silent, the footsteps coming closer and closer. Finally, they were just in front of the door.
BANG!

Both Claire and Allison gasped.

"Shush! Guys, don't let them hear you!" Jamie whispered to them.

They settled down as they then waited. They tried to make out who it could be.